Ancient Epistolary Theory: a Brief Overview

Abstract

This paper is a brief overview of ancient theoretical views on letters: how the term
‘epistle’ (έπιστολή, epistula) was defined in ancient times, what was discussed in the theory
of letters, what recommendations comprised epistolary decorum and what types of letters
were defined in ancient handbooks of letter-writing. The purpose of the paper is to reconstruct
ancient epistolary theory based on surviving evidence. Direct evidence of this theory
are the excursus on letters in the treatise Περὶ ἑρμηνείας by Demetrius, two postclassical
handbooks of letter-writing (“Τύποι έπιστολικοί” and “Έπιστολιμαῖοι χα-
ρακτῆρες”), a brief tractate on letters written by the sophist Philostratus of Lemnos, one
epistle by Gregory of Nazinanzus and the appendix “De epistulis” at the end of the rhetorical
handbook by Gaius Julius Victor “Ars rhetorica”. Indirect evidence, on the other hand, of ancient
epistolary theory are the not-so-numerous incidental references to letters and letterwriting
that are mainly found in Cicero’s correspondence.